To Your Majesty the King,
It's wonderful to hear from you again. It's always interesting to read your colorful catchphrases and quasi-colloquial expressions; they have a lot of personality paired with subliminal messages that I'd like to crack. I wouldn't prescribe binge-reading my next stack because I don't want you expending your energy in one sitting. If it's alright with you, I'm going to start from the bottom of your letter and work my way up.
1) King Ragnar
Your Majesty, I would like to "hold off on my problem" and husbands for the rest of my life, but I don't have the liberty to neglect my responsibilities at the age I am reaching. I refused marriage proposals in my early twenties because I promised the Storting that I would fulfill my commitments to the crown before my thirtieth birthday. Now I have to compete with other odds that I underestimated six years ago. Countless men don't want to have children with me for obvious reasons, but I came to terms with that; others think I'm a siren instead of a wholesome woman, and I swallowed that down, too. The ones who considered me in the past are disinclined to now because I'm not a young girl anymore; I'm what the continent calls a "leftover woman," and it is my "leftover" prospects that strike me as untrustworthy.
While I didn't say yes to the suggestion of King Ragnar because of a gestational countdown, the point you made about guaranteed equanimity is incredibly pivotal. The rocky relationship between our kingdoms, which had once steered us into a dual monarchy in the 16th century, hinges on maintaining neutral ground. Impartiality has been drowned out by screaming matches since his father's reign. In late March, we got ourselves into a screaming match after Ragnar's Ministry of Integration reportedly bankrolled a guerrilla attack on freedom fighters who were protesting against nationwide mistreatment of indentured servants from the Kiribat Isles, which had retreated into a state of isolationism years ago.
As you and I both calculated, King Kasimir believed that joint futurition would polarize the ideological differences between Arendelle and the Southern Isles in this jingoistic equation. One third of the Storting must have thought the same. Fortunately, I do know better. Arendelle has never admitted a large wave of immigrants, but my homeland and the Southern Isles are on two completely different pages in the unwritten book of basic human rights. Marriage does not unite incompatible partners, and it certainly does not unite incompatible kingdoms.
The Statsrådet and King Kasimir could be right about Arendelle becoming a good influence on the Southern Isles, but the odds of a civil war would be lower if King Ragnar was already rectifying his country's retrogression. He claims that he wants the Southern Isles to be anti-bellicistic, yet he has failed to inspire that conviction in his people. He took a passive stance on these March attacks. What's more is that succession in Arendelle is mainly determined by male preference primogeniture. Without an Act of Parliament to limit his power, my future husband will be styled king by jure uxoris.
The ways in which my kingdom charged its head of state with treason after so readily hailing Hans was only one example of my political vulnerability as a woman. One of the many things I admired about your relationship with Rapunzel was how you treated her as both your wife and your friend. Never did you try to conquer and colonize her simply because you are a man. I had hoped that a man would come forward with the same intentions if I was to marry against my own heart, but the last resort standing before me is not that man. All the same, rapprochement between our kingdoms is essential to Arendelle, and I will be forced to give my answer with delicacy and objectivity.
I also tried to explain the pros and cons of marriage to King Ragnar as we discussed his political passivity on our private date in Arendelle. He unconvincingly agreed to put off the union to inculcate a moral change in his kingdom, but he asked that I consider Prince Aloysius as an alternative.
By and by, I lose patience and points with my council and, evidently, my "excuses". . .
.. . ..I'm so sick and tired of fighting with the world of men that I don't know how to cope with this . . .. .
But you and I can discuss this at a later date. Tonight isn't the right time, and my notions are taking an improper turn. I apologize.. .
2) Your past
I don't mean to sound forward or overbearing, but you haven't given me an answer. I respect that it'll take a few years for you to get comfortable with relying on me, though I can't help but feel like you flatter me in some places and dodge me in others. At first I thought it was just your personality, but the blasé and often merry tones behind some of your statements seem inauthentic when you say everything will be or is under your control. Your colorful phrases come off like unnatural mitigators in your letter. We don't have to be glued at the hip, but please don't be intentionally illusive; it creates a counterproductive gray area.
3) Prince Hans
Why did you keep this bad blood in the dark for so many years? You probably thought it wasn't relevant before this leak, but it would've been something valuable to talk about beyond birthday letters and holiday cards.
Your coronation: I'm sorry about your coronation. You know as well as I do that I would never blame your reservations on weakness of character. Your adversaries are at fault. The better news is that your thieves were written to have crossed our borders as of April 1st. If you can supply their names, my men can supply a search and seize behind a fresh pursuit in Arendelle.
The banquet: Your judgment is accurate. I do use my intuition, but I only make final judgments when there is enough evidence to support my analysis. My visit wasn't the investigation I was conducting, however. I wanted to give your testimony to a private eye and his team. They're a bit of an unorthodox trio, but they're trustworthy.
I apologize for getting you all riled up over Prince Aloysius. Having never felt any towards a man myself, I know nothing of these butterflies that you speak of, and I know not the amount of self-restraint it takes for some men to control their enthusiasm in public. Prince Aloysius wrote me an insincere apology letter days after the banquet, but I don't need you to pummel him. I already have Anna.
My coronation: "In the eyes of Prince Eugene, whatever you were hiding and whatever you had wasn't anyone's business except your own." This explanation is actually a lot more compassionate than you could ever imagine, but what do you mean by "not visually, anyway?" Was that a compliment or an insult?
"(...) MIA is just an abbreviation for "Missing in Action." If that's what it stands for, then I deserve to be sniggled at.
The famine response method: What you're doing is inevitable. If you don't isolate the sick from the healthy, the end results will ruin Corona. Continue to treat them in a safe environment and don't be afraid to add guards to those quarantined areas. Simply make sure the patients are being treated humanely by personnel and herbalists in the location. Their motivation to fight this enemy will also rely on your courage, so be accessible by showing compassion like one human to another.
I am shipping peanut pastes and milk powder formulas to you as we write. Have your doctors mix them with water before giving them to the children for four months until they're able to stomach solid foods. If there are any other supplies you need, have your representative write a list to my private secretary. Once I get the Storting on my side, either I, Anna, or both of us will be on Corona's island to help you. Should something happen before then, I want you to come to Arendelle with your daughter. That is not a request.
The Ice Leaf: Based on how effective it sounds, I hope you've already chosen to share it with those whom need the flower stalk in Hohendorf. Villagers with the cough will benefit from an expectorant.
Isolde's recovery: No thanks is necessary. As I've stated time and again, you and Isolde are my family. When you write to me about how well you two are doing, I'm able to sleep a little. When weeks pass without me seeing your handwriting, my nights are another story entirely.
A lot like how you might not want me to apologize for my candor — which I still must — I don't want you to think that I'd be offended by your own. I understand your decision perfectly. No offense has been felt. This will be our last exchange by sea until winter comes, so it would be better if you returned my charm on ship.
I have read reviews about your critically acclaimed saga. Anna and I plan on ordering them very soon.
The blanket: I won't say that I'm not worried or haven't thought about what you conjectured. I see it play out in my mind all the time. I'll simply have to prepare myself for the advantages and disadvantages once I'm ready to climb that mountain. I am well aware of extremists who long to perform surgeries on my body and invite me to their countries for "special" tests. This has been and will forevermore be my life.
At twenty-seven, I feel and know that using my powers to help people on a global scale is what's right, for the world's needs are much bigger than myself and my fears. My life has more meaning when I help someone else. It's a purpose that I've shouldered to atone for all the trouble I caused at twenty-one. This responsibility is mutually exclusive with being one of multiple world leaders.
The Valentine's gift: Apart from a sweet little boy named Fredmund, your Valentine's present would've been the first I have ever received from someone other than Anna, Sven, and Olaf. Men do not fancy me nearly as much as yours have misled you to believe. Most have either kept their distance or told lies. Genuine interest is foreign to me. I don't pity myself nonetheless.
What motivates you to assume that I'm a Virgo? You're the ninth man who has said this as more of a statement than a question. I don't know enough about the Virgin Queen zodiac to draw comparisons, but I suppose that I'm sending strong Harvest Maiden vibrations. As a matter of fact, I was born on the winter solstice and Anna was born on the summer solstice. You used to mail us birthday greetings, remember? Yours will be in September (that'll be the Libra, isn't that right?), which means that I'm obligated to send you a gift first; you're not thirty-eight yet.
The shipwreck: Once more, no thanks is necessary. I think I'll pass on hearing whatever else your men had to say, but do send them my regards. They were wonderful gentlemen to my staff and I. Practically speaking, I don't have much to say about the mermaid buzz except that I prefer to believe something after all other logical theories have been exhausted.
The southern mountains: My wording was a little melodramatic, wasn't it? I was repairing my threatened standing with the formerly seceded Båhus, which lies south of Arendelle's borders. I hope that eases your conscience.
From Arendelle,
VI of April, 1847
Praying for your safety,
Queen Elsa
P.S. That last image of you rocking Isolde was heartwarming. I can't wait to spend those moments with her as well. Do sleep well, Eugene.